The Justice Department has appointed former Trump attorney Joseph diGenova to lead the federal probe into ex-CIA Director John Brennan and the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, the New York Times reported Sunday.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche tapped diGenova to serve as overseeing counsel for the sprawling inquiry. A federal grand jury in Miami has been seated since late last year.
The move reshuffles leadership of the investigation. Maria Medetis Long, a national security prosecutor with the South Florida U.S. attorney’s office, was removed from the case. She had been handling a false statements probe tied to Brennan along with broader conspiracy-related investigations.
DiGenova is a former U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., who represented Trump during Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. He has spent years publicly accusing Brennan of misconduct in connection with how the Russia probe was launched, allegations Brennan has repeatedly denied.
Brennan has defended the intelligence community’s conclusion that Moscow interfered in the 2016 election and has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the origins of the investigation.
The appointment puts a vocal Trump loyalist at the center of an investigation that Trump allies have argued for years was politically motivated. Republican critics of the Russia probe have long maintained that senior intelligence and law enforcement officials launched the investigation improperly and used it to target the Trump campaign.
“Joe diGenova brings a lifetime of experience, judgment, and proven leadership to this role,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said after diGenova’s swearing-in ceremony. “He understands the mission of the Department of Justice and the responsibility we carry to enforce the law fairly, protect the American people, and uphold the Constitution. I am confident he will serve with distinction.”
